Wednesday, May 02, 2007

1. Read 12 novels.I'm so glad that I made this resolution. Reading is becoming what it once was for me: natural. It requires no effort and no planning. I finish one book and I pick another one up. This month I read For One More Day by Mitch Albom and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. For One More Day was simple and beautiful; The Kite Runner was complex and dark and utterly fascinating.

2. Find a new job or go back to school. Or, ideally, find a new job AND go back to school.Still plugging away. Still chasing my tail. It was nice to have a few nibbles: in the form of a job interview (for a job I didn't get) and a phone interview (I don't think I even made it to the on-site interview). But it would be nicer to get a new damn job.

3. Go to the gym with increased frequency. Gym: I think this has been my best month so far: I made it to the gym 14 times in April! I now have 47 total visits to the gym. My goal is 175 trips to the gym for the year. Yikes. Will I make it to the gym an average of 18.2 times per month for the next 7 months? Very doubtful. I probably should've done the math before making this resolution. Hockey: 4 times over three days in April. It was a fun tournament, but I won't mind hanging up my skates 'til next fall. Skating: 7 times in April. I wish it could be 7 times per week.Soccer: I played three games in April.Overall: 28 instances of physical activity. Not bad at all.

4. Not make a weight-related resolution.I've been eating really, really well and feeling really, really good. I continue to weigh myself once or twice per month, more out of curiosity than anything.

5. Knit more. Here is where I have a problem with knitting: I am a perfectionist. I am a perfectionist and I also strongly value my time. And when I get into a knitting situation where I'm not absolutely certain that what I am doing is correct, I kind of freak out. I did a bit of knitting when I was en route to my hockey tournament in Chicago, but I unraveled almost as quickly as I knitted.

7. Visit with my grandparents more.Oh, I am just the apple of my grandma's eye. I saw her at Easter, again on a random Friday visit for lunch and for a few other short visits. I need to keep this up.

8. Cut back on the coffee/hazelnut cappuccino mix that I feast on allfrickingdaylong at work. It’s as bad as sipping on a soda all day.Please. This stuff barely appeals to me anymore. (I type that as I am sipping a cup of the offending concoction.) I've really cut back on my caffeine intake overall, which is probably a good thing, too.

9. Become a sweet-ass juggler.Eh. I kind of sucked at this. Again. I tried juggling in Mom and Dad's backyard and the damn dog was nipping at my ankles the whole time. Other than that, I didn't practice my juggling. And that is bad. I am bad.

10. Allow myself to trust Colin.I trust that Colin cares about me. I do. It's not really about trusting Colin anymore. We have other problems. Different problems. He doesn't know what he wants and I don't know how to tell him what I want.

Letting things cool off was the best thing I could do for us. We now have the room and the distance that we need to rebuild. And maybe we will.

April’s resolution of the month: Stre-e-e-e-e-e-tch! And stretch often!Fail. I could've done so, so much better. The crucial mistake came when I didn't make a calendar or a list to chart my progress. There's no inspiration. There isn't a reminder staring me in the face. While I certainly made more of an effor to stretch than I have in other months, it wasn't enough. I could do better. I will do better, as a matter of fact, because I will revisit this resolution another month.

A pinch to grow an inch: May’s resolution of the monthWear sunscreen every dayThis is a habit I need to get into. I'm already good with wearing it when I know I will be out in the sun, now I need to be good about wearing it all the time. Because I would prefer not to be any more leathery and wrinkly than I need to be.

I second pS2's book recommendation, that's a great one (one of my favs from last year.) I also loved the two you mentioned in this post!!

Um, April's resolution is to Streeeeeth? (you're missing the 'c') which is really funny, really...I mean, streeething could be anything right? So, I hereby do declare to streeth more in April, too. If, by 'streething' you mean to lie around aimlessly on the couch wondering how many more days until football is back on... yep, count me in!

Hi. I'm A.

Born, raised, educated in the Midwest, I am such a Midwesterner. So Midwestern, if you will.

I am: a blogger of 8+ years, forever searching for my next athletic challenge, hopelessly overscheduled and always, always eating.

I started So Midwestern right after I graduated from college, hoping to chronicle my transition to adulthood. Graduate school, four half marathons, two new nephews, three apartments, a trip to Africa, a sprinkle of heartbreak, dozens of unfinished knitting projects, four turns as a bridesmaid, 8,913 job applications and two full-time positions later: I’m fairly convinced that the day when I feel like a legitimate, full-fledged grownup will never come. So I’ll just keep on blogging.

I write about a little bit of everything and a lot of nothing. Toss my ramblings with a few pictures, a touch of swearing and an endless appreciation for the beauty that is David Beckham and you have So Midwestern. Welcome.